MR. SNOW: I don't have anything to announce. Tell me what you
want to know.

Q Well, we've got your position on the verdict, itself -- what
is the U.S. position of the death sentence for Saddam Hussein?

MR. SNOW: There's no position. The Iraqi court has pronounced
sentence in conformity with the Iraqi law, as you would expect it to do.

Q Will it have any impact in the political debate in the United
States, leading up to the election?

MR. SNOW: Don't know. The question gets asked a lot. I think
what you have seen in recent weeks is the emergence of Iraqi
capabilities in a number of areas that are going to be essential for an
Iraq that can sustain, govern and defend itself. You've seen security
forces standing up in a number of places. They're obviously in full
control of two provinces and increasingly asserting command elsewhere.
You have increased police capability -- although, we have a long way to
go -- police yesterday hitting an al Qaeda cell in southern Baghdad,
killing 53 and apprehending another 13. You have reconciliation efforts
continuing. And, obviously, when you're trying to develop a democratic
system, you need to have a rule of law that protects people's rights and
functions in an orderly and fair manner.

Q Will the President mention the Saddam verdict?

MR. SNOW: In the speech? Yes, there will be a little bit of
language on it.

Q Do you think his death really matters, in a country so mired
in turmoil?

MR. SNOW: What do you mean, does his death really matter?

Q You know, the death penalty. I mean, wouldn't a guilty
verdict have been enough? Does he have to be put to death? And does it
really matter in a country like Iraq?

MR. SNOW: Well, I'm not going to second-guess the people of Iraq.
You might want to keep in mind that this is a guy who's on trial right
now for killing, in a separate incident, 180,000 people, and killed
hundreds of thousands of his own citizens. And there are people who
will forever bear the scars, real and psychological, for the way he
brutalized the country over a long period of time.

I think we owe them our respect for having conducted a trial of
this sort in an orderly manner, while there were threats of violence
throughout on both sides. And the judges are going to be releasing all
of the evidence and all the deliberations that led them to this verdict,
so that their own process will be completely transparent. I think we
ought to respect that.

Q Some political analysts are saying that the reason why the
President has to go to Kansas and Nebraska -- really, really Republican
states -- is because they're on the defensive so badly. Is that one of
the reasons why they're going?

MR. SNOW: He's going in to help candidates. I mean, I --

Q These states are, like, really red.

MR. SNOW: Yes, but on the other hand you've got -- for instance,
you've got an open seat in Nebraska, and in Kansas you've got a close
race. I don't see -- you can put whatever spin you want to on it; the
President is helping candidates and it has certainly made a difference
elsewhere and we expect it to here.

Q How can you brief while the Redskins just scored again and we
missed it? In overtime. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: You didn't miss it and it's not overtime, it's just the
beginning of the fourth quarter. (Laughter.)

Q Did he speak to the Prime Minister or anybody today?

MR. SNOW: No. No, there have been no foreign leader calls.

Q Anything on the anniversary celebration this morning?

MR. SNOW: Just that they had it, but we're not going to give you
any further details.